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The Adversary (episode)
A Federation ambassador brings newly-promoted Captain Sisko orders to take the Defiant on a patrol of the Tzenkethi border, where a destabilizing coup has just taken place, but everything is not as it seems. (Season finale) Summary In the wardroom, Commander Sisko is receiving his fourth pip from his son Jake, finally becoming a captain. After being congratulated by his colleagues and as Quark serves the champagne, Federation Ambassador Krajensky informs Sisko that a coup has taken place on the Tzenkethi homeworld. Sisko is to take the ambassador and the to that sector to remind the Tzenkethi of the Federation's presence on nearby colony worlds. Chief O'Brien begins checking over the ship systems in case the Defiant ends up in battle, however he can't help but feel that he isn't alone. Later, he runs into Bashir who says that he is using his engineering extension course from the Academy to tie his new medical console into the main power grid. Not long after departing, the Defiant receives a distress signal from a colony on Barisa Prime, stating they are under attack by the Tzenkethi. When contact is abruptly cut off, Sisko alters course and tries to contact Starfleet Command or the nearby . However, the ship's communication system malfunctions. Chief O'Brien and Lieutenant Dax discover that strange alien devices have hooked themselves into the ship's systems; their placement is the work of a saboteur. Calling the senior staff and Ambassador Krajensky to the bridge, Dax explains that the person who is responsible for the sabotage would have been exposed to trace amounts of tetryon particles. O'Brien and Dax have already tested positive for the particles as they opened up the panel and Dax begins scanning each member of the crew with her tricorder for signs of the particles despite knowing that if no-one else tests positive she and Chief O'Brien will be the prime suspects. Both Sisko and Bashir test negative, and O'Brien tells the Doctor that he's glad of the fact due to him being in the Jefferies tube earlier, however Bashir denies ever having being there. Dax begins scanning Krajensky for the particles and to her shock he turns up positive. Krajensky smiles, realizing he's been caught and then suddenly turns into a gelatinous state and escapes through an access hatch to the shock and horror of the crew, as they realize the full extent of the situation. A Changeling is aboard the Defiant. Suddenly the Defiant cloaks. Captain Sisko immediately orders a full stop and, but the ship is no longer under the crew's control. Sisko orders security teams deployed to find the Changeling, as Dax reports that the helm is not responding. The Defiant arms its weapons ready for battle and continues on its course to Tzenkethi space. Meeting in the mess hall, the senior staff discuss the situation. It seems likely that the Dominion is hoping to start a war between the Tzenkethi and the Federation. Kira points out that the Tzenkethi are doing a good job of that on their own, but Sisko points out that the coup, the distress signal, in fact the whole mission could have been setup by the Dominion in the hopes of creating a war that would destabilize the Alpha Quadrant and make it easier for them to move in. Also, neither Krajensky or his remains have been found during a complete search of the ship, meaning that he was impersonated by a Changeling the whole time he was on board the Defiant, and that he may also have never really come to the station in the first place. With the Defiant primed for battle and just a few short hours from the Tzenkethi border, it is imperative that they locate the Changeling. They've barely begun their search when O'Brien finds Dax unconscious in the engine room, so he'll have to make the repairs himself. Bashir reports that Dax has neural injuries and that she will take some time to recover. Sisko decides that if O'Brien can't regain control of the ship before they get to the border, he'll have to order the self-destruct of the Defiant. Because the Changeling can look like anyone, Sisko orders all non-essential personnel confined to quarters with force fields, has his officers pair up – with instructions to keep their partner in sight at all times – anyone caught without a partner should be escorted to the brig. Everyone is armed with phaser rifles and ordered to sweep the ship with phaser fire. However, in the course of hunting down the Changeling: Sisko, Odo, Eddington, Kira and a Bolian officer are each separated from their partner and suspicion and paranoia grow among the crew nearly leading to violence. Odo points out that Sisko is not the Changeling as he is bleeding from a minor wound: if any part of a Changeling (in this case "blood") is removed from the body, then it would revert to its natural gelatinous state. Now armed with a way of unmasking the Changeling via simple blood tests, Sisko has Dr. Bashir test everyone. When Eddington's blood morphs into orange goo, he is taken into custody despite pleading his innocence. He is proven correct moments later when they discover a second Bashir – the real Bashir – and realize they have been tricked by the Changeling, who substituted some of his mass for Eddington's blood sample. He escapes just as the Defiant enters Tzenkethi space. Sisko has no other choice but to activate the auto-destruct sequence, giving O'Brien only ten minutes to find a way to regain control of the ship. Luckily O'Brien, with the help of some of Dax's research, has found a way to disable the force fields protecting the Changeling's modifications, meaning he should be able to regain control of the ship. Meanwhile, Bashir enters the bridge and informs Captain Sisko that Dax was merely tranquilized by the Changeling, although she would still be unconscious for a few hours. As O'Brien works in engineering, Odo shows up...followed by a second Odo. Unwilling to be side-tracked by playing "choose the Changeling" O'Brien manages to drop the force fields surrounding the sabotaged systems. However, this also means that all the force fields across the ship shut down – including the one protecting the warp core. The false Odo changes form and attacks O'Brien and Odo. The Changeling grabs Odo's chest and starts to link with him, telling him he has no place among the solids, and that the two of them can escape the ship together and return to the Great Link. Odo, however, has no intention of doing that and fights the Changeling off, and pushes him against the warp core, fatally injuring him. Odo is horrified, not only is this the first time in all his years as a security officer he has ever taken a life but he has also just become the first Changeling to ever harm another. He tells the dying Changeling that he didn't want to hurt him, and the Changeling whispers something to Odo before he dies. O'Brien completes his repairs, returning control of the ship to Sisko, who deactivates the self-destruct and orders the Defiant turned around. Back at DS9, Sisko informs the senior staff that the Tzenkethi coup never really happened, and that the real Krajensky went missing while on route to Risa and has presumably been captured or killed by the Dominion. Odo enters the wardroom, weighed down by recent events and relays some very disturbing news, the dying Changeling's last words... "You are too late. We are everywhere..." Memorable quotes "You'd be surprised. People don't enter Starfleet to become commanders. Or admirals, for that matter. It's the captain's chair everyone has their eye on. That's what I wanted when I joined up." : - Lieutenant Commander Eddington "Why are you protecting these solids? You don't belong with them. You belong with us. Let go. Don't you see? You've lost. It's too late for you to help them, but it's not too late to help yourself. Link with me, Odo. We can escape together." "I... don't... think... so!!" : - Changeling saboteur and Odo "Dad, there's something I've been wanting to say to you for a long time and now that I finally have the chance, I'm going to make it short and simple. Congratulations, ''Captain Sisko!" : - '''Jake Sisko', at his father's promotion Background Information * The working title of this episode was "Flashpoint". In the Deep Space Nine Chronicles intro, it is stated that the episode was untitled until a contest was held and "The Adversary" was selected. * The producers had initially planned to do a show that had a cliff-hanger ending involving Changelings on Earth. The story was set to introduce Joseph Sisko and would take place in Starfleet Headquarters, with the end to revolve around Benjamin Sisko saying that the Founders had infiltrated the very heart of...and that was the end of the show. However, for reasons still unknown, Paramount nixed the idea, saying they didn't want a cliff-hanger ending, and so the writers came up with a story about a Changeling wreaking havoc on the Defiant instead. As Robert Hewitt Wolfe puts it, "That's when the idea of the ''Defiant heading inexplicably toward destruction, like the death machine that she really is, being all locked down and going like a runaway train, became the basic hook that everyone really liked''." However, the Changelings-on-Earth story later served as the basis for the episodes and the following season. (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion) * The scene in the Defiant's mess hall where the senior officers are taking blood samples of each other to determine which one of them is the Changeling is very reminiscent of the 1982 film . This film is based on the 1938 (writing under the pseudonym of Don A. Stuart) short story " ", which contains a very similar scene. Strangely however, the writers cite neither the original story nor the Carpenter film as their primary inspiration for this episode, but rather the 1951 film adaptation, called . That film emphasizes the theme of paranoia much more so than either the story or the later film adaptation, and paranoia was something the writers were interested in exploring, as it was something rarely seen in the Star Trek universe. (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion) * The writers decided to use the line "No changeling has ever harmed another" as an important element in this episode. This line had been heard a few times already (in , and ), and its importance would return in the fourth season finale, , where Odo receives his punishment for killing a fellow Changeling. * The character of Michael Eddington was deliberately set up as a red herring in this episode. The writers felt that the way actor Kenneth Marshall had portrayed the character in , and had always implied some kind of underlying threat, so they decided to use that to their advantage in this episode. Indeed, after the episode aired, the word around the internet was that Eddington was a Changeling infiltrator, and that this was obviously going to have a bearing on the upcoming season. Upon hearing this, the writers decided that they would never make Eddington a Changeling.(Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion) Later on, it would be revealed that Eddington was a threat, but not in the manner people expected: he was a member of the Maquis who would eventually betray Starfleet. * According to Jadzia Dax, there are 47 people on board the Defiant in this episode. * This episode marks the first appearance of several new sets aboard the Defiant, namely main engineering, the mess hall and the extended corridor set. * According to the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion, the rifles used in this episode are the first rifles ever seen in Star Trek which actually have a trigger. * The fight between Odo and the Changeling at the end of the episode was extremely complicated to put together due to all the morphing effects. Producer Steve Oster points out that there are more morphing effects in this short scene than in the entire third season. According to actor Rene Auberjonois, after principal photography was completed, all the cast were allowed to leave except himself and Lawrence Pressman. He explains that during the main shoot, he and Pressman had filmed the scene as normal, but to make sure the effects would work properly, each of them then had to re-enact the scene separately, looking at a monitor and matching their movements exactly. (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion) There are actually some clips of both actors shooting the fight without the other present in the Deep Space Nine Chronicles intro to this episode. * The scene when Krajensky morphs into a Changeling and escapes through the vent is one of visual effects supervisor Glenn Neufeld's favorite shots from the entire seven years of DS9. * In the teaser for the episode Sisko is promoted to captain, however in the opening credits of the show he is still credited as "Commander Sisko". This is the last episode to credit Sisko as a commander. It is also the last time Sisko is seen with hair. * This episode marks the last time Alexander Siddig is credited as Siddig El Fadil as an actor. As a director, however, he remains credited as Siddig El Fadil for . * Stunt coordinator Dennis Madalone played the Starfleet security officer who got his head bashed against a bulkhead by the Changeling. Madalone also plays the one-eyed Marauder in the mirror universe episodes. * Ronald D. Moore is a big fan of this episode because he considers it to be very un-''Star Trek''; "It really appealed to me on this sort of visceral John Wayne level. There's a monster on the ship, it's after us, and we're gonna hunt it down and kill it. We're not gonna negotiate with it, we're not gonna worry about whether it's sentient, we're not gonna play any of the usual ''Star Trek games with it. It's just, 'Find and kill the monster.' There was something very pure about that show''." (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion) * Ira Steven Behr sees this episode as an important step in the show's movement towards serialization, which would reach a peak in the six-episode arc which opened season six and the nine-episode, ten-hour arc which acted as the finale of the series itself; ""The Adversary" was the first one where we really knew we were going to be starting to get the S-word, serialized, just a tad. In spite of all the finger-wagging and knowing we weren't supposed to, it was just a little bit, a little bit." (The Birth of the Dominion and Beyond, DS9 Season 3 DVD special features) Video and DVD releases *UK VHS release (two-episode tapes, CIC Video): Volume 3.13, . *As part of the DS9 Season 3 DVD collection. Links and references Main cast *Avery Brooks as Commander / Captain Benjamin Sisko *Rene Auberjonois as Constable Odo *Siddig El Fadil as Doctor Julian Bashir and Changeling saboteur *Terry Farrell as Lieutenant Jadzia Dax *Cirroc Lofton as Jake Sisko *Colm Meaney as Chief Miles O'Brien *Nana Visitor as Major Kira Nerys Guest stars *Lawrence Pressman as the Krajensky and Changeling saboteur *Kenneth Marshall as Michael Eddington *Jeff Austin as a Bolian security officer Co-star *Majel Barrett as the Computer Voice Uncredited co-stars *Sam Alejan as a medical officer *Ivor Bartels as a security officer *Jeff Cadiente as an operations division ensign *Tory Christopher as a medical lieutenant *Kathleen Demor as a security officer *Randy James as Jones *Mark Lentry as a command division lieutenant commander *Dennis Madalone as a Human security officer Stand-ins and stunt doubles *Tom Morga as stunt double for Jeff Austin *Unknown stunt performers as **Stunt double for Rene Auberjonois **Stunt double for Nana Visitor **Photo double for Rene Auberjonois References 1964; ambassador; Autarch; blood; Bolian; coup d'etat; duridium; Entebe; Federation-Dominion Cold War; Federation-Tzenkethi border; Federation-Tzenkethi War; Founder; Helaspont Nebula; M'kemas III; ore; Risa; sabotage; Solais V; tetryon; Tzenkethi; Tzenkethi warship; ''Ulysses'', USS; warp plasma conduit; World Series; Kasidy Yates External links * * |next= }} Adversary, The de:Der Widersacher es:The Adversary nl:The Adversary